Recoilless rifle



Feb. 7, 1961 c wALjoN lvlussxalf ETAL I RECOILLESS RIFLE 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed NOV. 26, 1958 onsJ C WALTDN MUSSER v Y Sm,

INVENT BY KENNETH R. WADLEIGH /L HM, @.gmf

.le ,5L ATTORNEYS lil Feb. 7, 1961 Filed Nov. 26, 1958 c wALToN MUssERETAL REcoILLEss RIFLE INVENTORSl C WALTON MUSSER KENNETH R. WADLEIGHATTORNEYS.

REcorLLEss RIFLE C Walton Musset, Beverly, and Kenneth R. Wadleigh,Belmont, Mass., assignors to the United States of America as representedby the Secretary of the Armyl Filed Nov. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 776,653

4 Claims. (Cl. 89-1.7)

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes without the payment of anyroyalty thereon.

This invention relates to recoilless rifles such as are,A

between a perforated casing and a perforated boom containing a powderfor igniting the propellent.

In guns of this type, lightness of weight and simplicity of operationare prime considerations. The rifle of the present invention is giventhese advantages by a unique and radical departure from the recoillessrifles in use at the present time. In it, the conventional breechmechanism, with its diicult-to-machine kidney-shaped nozzle, isaltogether eliminated, and in its place there is substituted a circularnozzle which is an integral part of the cartridge.

Another unique feature is the provision of a relatively simple firingmechanism including a sear which functions to (l) hold the tiring pinaway from the primer prior to the cocking of the hammer, (2) lock ythehammer in its uncooked position when the gun has been tired, and (3)lock the circular nozzle to the chamber.

The invention will be better understood from the following descriptionwhen considered in connection with the accompanying drawings and itsscope is indicated by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings: f

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the general assembly of the rie, and

Fig. 3 illustrates the various parts of the firing mechanism andcartridge.

The gun of Figs. l and 2 includes abarrel 10, a charnber 11, a circularnozzle 12, and a ring mechanism 13. The hammer (not shown in Fig. l) ofthe mechanism 13 is cocked by a cocking lever 14. The mechanism 13 isoperated to fire the gun by `means of a hand trigger 15 and a cable 16.The barrel 10 supports a telescope 17 and is arranged to be supportedeither upon the shoulder or upon a retractable monopod 18 and theshoulder rests 19 and 20 which are adapted to be swung downwardly in theform of a bipod.

Fig. 3 illustrates, among other things, a cartridge including aperforated casing 21 and a boom 22 which bears tins 23 and is madehollow and perforated to receive a powder for igniting a propellentinterposed between the boom and the casing.

At its rear end,' the cartridge has a closure which inf cludes a metalpressure plug 24, a plastic plug 25 and the nozzle 12. For tiring thepropellent igniting powder of the cartridge a primary 26, mounted on thenozzle 12, is connected with the interior of the boom 22 through anoutlet 27 extending through the nozzle 12, therplastic plug 25 and thepressure plug 24. A

The nozzle 12 is provided with three threads 28 which are adapted toengage similar threads 29 of the. chamber spaced primers and outletssimilar to the primer 26 land outlet 27. These are provided so that, nomatter how the round is inserted into the chamber, a primer is always inline with the firing pin 30. Plastic plug 25 and pressure plug 24 aresimilarly provided with a plurality of passageways or outlets whichprovide communication between the primer and the igniting powder of thecartridge.

In assembling the cartridge of Fig. 3, the projectile (not shown) isplaced in the case 21 to its proper depth. The correct quantity ofpowder is then placed in the case .and the pressure plug 24 is screwedinto the boom 22.

The nozzle 12 isthen placed upon the plastic plug 25q until an indexhole 31 therein engages a protrusion on the plug 25. This aligns the gaspassages or primer outlets of the mating parts. A gland nut-32 is thenscrewed into the nozzle 12 thereby locking all parts of the cartridgetogether so that it is ready for insertion into the gun. Once in thegun, the projectile is rotated to tighten the threads 28 and 29 and islocked in its final positiony by a rear extension of a sear 33 of thefiring mechanism.

The firing mechanism includes, in addition to the tiring pin 30, thesear 33 and the cocking lever 14, a hammer 34, a tiring rack 35, a pin36 for supporting the rear end of this rack, a cam 37 fixed to thehousing of the firing mechanism, a spring 38 connected between the frontends of the rack 35 and the sear 33, a sear actuator 39, a ring cable16, a cable housing adapter 40 and a cable housing 41.

Y It will be noted that the sear 33 has on one of its sides anVextension 42 which functions to lock the nozzle tol the chamber.' lOnthe other side of the sear are cams 43 and 44 and a notchl 45.

The hammer 34 is shown by Fig. 3 as in the position which it assumesupon the introduction of the cartridge into the gun. In this position,the nozzle 12 is locked to the chamber 11 by the extension 42 of thesear, the ring pin 30 is locked away from the primer 26 by the cam 43,and the spring 38 is-partially contracted.

Cocking of the hammer 34 by the exterior cocking 4lever 14 moves thefiring rack 35 rearwardly over the cam 37 into the position indicated bybroken lines where itis held by the stop 45. This also tensions thespring 38.

Firing of the gun iseffected by operating the trigger 15 (see Fig. l) topull the ring cable forward. This produces three different results. AItmoves the cam 43 out of the way of the firing pin 30. It brings the cam44 into engagement with the forward part of the firing rack 35 so thatthis part is raised above the catch 37 and the `gun is fired. It permitsthe extension 42 to drop to a lower level in which the sear is preventedfrom returning to the position illustrated in Fig. 3. In this position,the forward part of the rack 35 is in engagement with the notch 45 andthe hammer 34 is locked in its uncooked position.

As the extension 42 of the sear 33 is drawn forward it disengages from aslot in the nozzle 12. This permits the nozzle 12 to be rotated andwithdrawn from the rifle. When it is withdrawn the sear 33 is returnedrearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3 by the action of spring 38.This locks the tiring pin 30 in the up position and releases the rack 35to permit cocking the rifle by cocking lever 14.

The spring 38 has a multiple function. In the tired position, theaddition to repositioning the sear 33, it serves to return the cable 16to its prelired position, thereby making certain that the ball-end ofthe cable in the trigger mechanism is rmly engaged with the trigger.

Patented Feb. 7, 1961,

